Seat belts for dogs? How about a humane life for pigs?

Aristide Economopoulos/The Star-LedgerA dog rides in an SUV while traveling east bound on Route 10 in Livingston.

There is no greater vision of happiness than that of a dog with his head hanging out an open car window, his jowls flapping in the wind.

And yet, our lawmakers are locked in debate over whether this is "cruel and inhumane." A Democratic assemblywoman has introduced a bill that would require dogs and cats to buckle up for safety, just like people do — or the driver could be ticketed and fined for animal cruelty. Republicans, on the other hand, are proposing a competing bill to make sure it’s not considered cruelty.

So is this inhumane, or isn’t it? Based on the look on your dog’s face, we say no. Let him ride seat-belt-free. If Assemblywoman Grace Spencer’s bill had banned carting dogs on top of car roofs, that would be another matter entirely.

Nobody wants a dog to get hurt in a car accident, of course. Yet how often does that really happen? Probably not nearly as much as dogs are hit by cars. If there’s a societal problem here, it’s distracted driving. So don’t allow your pet to sit on your lap at the wheel. But having a blissful dog in the back isn’t necessarily more distracting than a bunch of bickering kids. (And who takes their cat for a ride without a crate?)

The state SPCA justifies car restraints for pets by pointing to seat belts for children. But instead of trying to apply the same standards we use for kids to animals — are you prepared to brush your cat’s teeth twice daily and pay for psychoanalysis? — let’s focus on banning practices that are clearly cruel and inhumane.

That’s basic decency. When you consider that proposal against seat belts for pets, the difference in standards is striking — particularly given the strong similarities between pigs and dogs. Both are social, intelligent creatures that can be taught tricks. (Arnold, the piglet star of the sitcom "Green Acres," could write his name and play the piano.) Both can be heroic. (In 1984, a swimming pet pig named Priscilla was credited for saving an 11-year-old boy from drowning in Houston.)

Yet we seek to apply child seat-belt standards to dogs, while torturing pigs in slaughterhouses? Let government focus on preventing real animal cruelty.